The Savvy Psychologist's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Mental Health

Positive self-talk isn't just an athlete's secret weapon! Decades of research shows it boosts performance, builds mental toughness, and regulates emotions whenever you take on a challenging task. Here's how to use it to score some big wins of your own. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/positive-self-talk https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

The neuroscience and psychology of gratitude show that cultivating gratitude, even in small doses, can do wonders for your mental health. Here's how gratitude works, and some simple tips for sprinkling more nourishing gratitude into your daily life. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/your-brain-on-gratitude https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Your heart pounds. Your vision gets blurry. You can hear the blood rushing in your ears. You wonder if you’re going to faint or totally lose your senses. What’s going on? Panic attacks are terrifying experiences that can put a major weight on your life. Let's dig into the science of why they happen and what to do to gain your freedom back. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/having-panic-attack-what-to-do https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Some people who continuously care for others burn out and experience compassion fatigue, a very real and natural psychological phenomenon. How can you recognize compassion fatigue? How do you cope? It begins with having compassion for yourself. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/prevent-compassion-fatigue https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Have you ever been in a relationship that made you feel insecure, put down, and used? Here's how to spot whether your partner has the dark triad, a trifecta of personality traits that can do serious damage in relationships, and advice for safely getting out. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/dark-triad-5-red-flags https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

If your partner, friend, or family member has ever made you feel insecure, unsafe, unloved, and uncertain, they may have high levels of the dark triad personality traits—Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. What do these traits look like in action, and why are they so destructive to relationships? Today we explore the dark triad in part one of a two-part episode series. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/what-is-dark-triad-relationships https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Have you ever woken up in the middle of eating a sandwich? Felt paralyzed in your bed? Or maybe you heard an earth-shattering explosion just as you were falling asleep that nobody else heard. We'll learn more about parasomnias, the strange medical phenomena that fascinate people and stump doctors. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/parasomnias https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych    

People used to think that creativity was a gift from the gods. Now we have some clues from neuroscience and psychology for how to cultivate it. Hint: You might want to lobby your boss for a nap pod at the office. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/how-to-be-creative https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

The winter blues can sap your energy, disrupt your sleep, and destroy your concentration, but there's a simple key to defeating it—light. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/beat-winter-blues https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

From forest bathing to napping to belly laughing, cultures from around the world have cultivated well-being in many fascinating ways—and science agrees that they're effective! Better yet? They won't cost you a thing. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/cultural-wellness-practices https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Finding a good therapist shouldn't be like finding an empathic needle in a haystack. We'll walk step-by-step through the process of finding potential therapists, narrowing down your list, evaluating whether someone is a good match, and finding affordable therapy options. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/how-find-therapist https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Imagine a medical treatment based on cutting edge science. I bet what came to mind wasn't doing double dares and playing detective with your diary. But these are just what the doctor orders for treating a range of psychological disorders, like anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, insomnia, and more in a type of psychotherapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Today, we take a behind-the-scenes tour of CBT to see how and why it works. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/cognitive-behavioral-therapy https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Pop culture portrays therapy in a way that usually misses the mark ... by a lot. Let's demystify the idea of going to therapy with a down-to-earth overview of what types of therapy there are and which problems they can help with. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/what-is-therapy https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Resentment is a poisonous, slow burning feeling that's bad for our mental health and even worse for our relationships. How can we let go of resentment when situations are unfair or we feel left behind? Let's take a break from grumbling to consider five ways to get a healthy perspective shift. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/let-go-resentment https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

You've heard how amazing and effective mindfulness is, but it sounds intimidating. Worry not! There are simple and sustainable ways to add mindfulness practices to your life and reap real benefits. You don't even need a meditation rug. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/anyone-can-practice-mindfulness https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych